Hoti, Pakistan

Hoti
Union council
Coordinates: 34°12′00″N 72°04′00″E / 34.20000°N 72.06667°ECoordinates: 34°12′00″N 72°04′00″E / 34.20000°N 72.06667°E
Country  Pakistan
Province Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
District Mardan

Hoti (Urdu: ہوتی ), pronounced Oothay in Pukhto, is a union council in Mardan District of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.[1] The town is located at 34°12'0N°, 72°4'0E at an altitude of 284 metres (935 feet)[2] and lies just west of Peshawar, the capital of the province, and is inhabited by the Kamalzai Pashtuns, a sub-tribe of the Mandanh.

The people of this area only speak Pukhto, and the adhere strongly to the Pukhtoon traditions of hospitality and loyalty.

Although the MPs are democratically elected in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the old feudal system is still strong in Hoti. The head of the leading feudal family is Mohammad Ali Khan Hoti, a former education minister of Pakistan.

Livelihood and demographics

The main livelihood for the Hoti people is agriculture, and they process and export sugarcane to the rest of the country.

The Hoti area is divided by the Kulpani River. The family of the ex-Nawab of Hoti lives on the Mardan side, whereas the Hoti areas across the river are still developing. The major cash crops of the area are tobacco and sugarcane. Virginia tobacco is mostly utilized by the local cigarette manufacturers while the major yield of sugarcane is consumed by the Premier Sugar Mill (established in 1954 by Hindu businessman Seth Ishwar Das). As an old tradition, some of the sugarcane is used locally to make jaggery (Gur in local Pukhto).

Hoti is inhabited by Kamalzai Pukhtoons, although there are also some non-Pakhtoons. All the Pukhtoons living in Hoti can also be referred to as Hotikhels, as those of Mardan are referred as Mardankhels. Other people living in this area include the Mandoori, Syeds, Shahibzadas, Khashmiryan, Malazi, Bajauri, etc.

References